Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-19
Planting the Yina.

EAr' VI tne Wn0le work. It is not to be
expected that in this country the ground
will be trenched three feet deep, as is
done for planting vineyards in Europe,
but there is nothing to prevent much
better preparation than is usually given.
With the common sulky plow and a
subsoil attached to the lower crossbsr
and six good horses or mules, depth of
twenty.one inches may be thoroughly
stirred. With four horses and the sam Q
plow and attachment the ground may be
plowed to the depth Of fourteen inches
which Is the shallowest work that should
be allowed. 1t is not necessary to turn
all the soil stirred, bat to loosen it,
break up any hardpan ard aerate the
ground to the depth at which the yonng
roots will start from the foot of the cut
ting. These are the only roots that are
OF any value to the vine and should
have q bed OF nice, mellow earth sur.
rounding them. Ifthe preceding winter
has been very wet one, almost any of
our lands will be moist enough to start
the vine, but if the rainfall has been
light the ground to be planted should be
carefully irrigated. This irrigation will
have the additional advantage of
cleaning out gophers, squirrels.
field mice and q multitude of
insects that prey upon the young
vine. If the rains have been scanty and
irrigation is impossible, it is better not
to plant until one of the requisite condi.
tions can be had. Nothing is more pro-
voking than an imperfect stand in d
young vineyard.
After the ground is plowed, narrowed
and leveled, so that there will be no
ugly ridges and dead burrows, the next
thing to be done is
THE MARKING,
Which is another of the all.important
processes in viticulture. Straight rows.
e9ui.distant on level land, are essential
to good cultivation. To have straight
rows on hilly or uneven land, will ie.
quire more care and little skillful en-.
gineeriDg. Perhaps it would pay the
proprietor who plants a vineyard on
billy land, to avail himself of the ser.
vices OF competent surveyor to set
flags at the ends of his rows, and others
at intervals between the ends along the
rows. for the guidance of the marker.
Too great care cannot be given to have
all the rows on both hilly and level land
perfectly straight, for the beauty of the
vineyard and the ease of cultivation.
The marker most in use is made in the
form of . sled, sixteen, fourteen or
twelve feet long. with three runners so
placed as to mark rows eight, seven or
six feet wide. These runners should be
made about three feet long, of some
hard wood Oregon pine will do), two
inches thick aud firmly nailed
to two plank placed upon them
of the lengths first above named.
Upon these should be bolted two strong
pieces of joist in the form of wagon
hounds projecting in front far enough to
receive stout pole like wagon.tongue,
well braced and fastened with an iron
rod. Care must be taken that the mo-
tion of the machine is steady and true
in all its parts. With ,well.made
marker, @ gentle team and careful
driver, excellent work may be done.
Some of the best vineyards in this
vicinity, one of fifteen, one of ten, and
one OF three acres, were marked with a
wheelbarrow. Of course the rows
should be laid off both ways.
AT fer the land is properly marked the
next important consideration is
THE CONDITION OF THE CUTTINGS.
More failures occur from bad cuttings
than all other causes. They should be
taken from young, healthy, bearing
vlnes-the more fruitful the parent
vine the better. They should be left as
long as possible before cutting-until
the lst of February at least. Fourteen
inches between the terminal buds is a
good length. The canes used should be
short jointed and cut square, about one
eighth of an inch below the lower bud,
where cambium, q wax. like substance, is
secreted that helps the formation of the
roots. When cut they must be heeled
in, not in bundles. but each one with its
own surrounding of fine earth, with
ouly the top bud above ground. Let
them have water once in ten days, un-
less there have been abundant rains.
Here they should be left until they be-
gin to show signs of life. Very early
planting is injudicious. as the
ground is cold. Festina lente
hurry slowly; there is luck in
leisure in planting the vine. If the
buds have swollen and the white rootlets
started, all the better. This enables
the planter to see at q glance that the
cutting has plenty of life. Such will
grow as surely as sound potatoe, Bet.
ter reject every one that does not show
some sign of vitality.
OF cuttings that have not started,
/ Atme Champin, celebrated French Wit.
iculturist, says: "When the wood is Of
beautiful green, all is we'll. When it
is whitish, although green in color; or
when dry, though somewhat green, it is
necessary to suspect it. The color is
the best optical guide. but even this is
not certain enough. The one infallible
sign is freshness itself; it must be 50 to
the touch and by general appearance;
it must show surface glistening with
moisture, especially where cut diagonally
and held so as to reflect the light; the
sap must be fresh and the surface lumin-
ous." Too much care cannot be used
in the selection of cuttings. The writer
in 1882 planted $500 cuttings. bought of
a grower who professed skill in the
business, and, though planted with
the utmost care, on land in the best pos.
sible condition, not one in hundred
grew. In 1884 the same ground was
planted with the same number of cut.
tings kept in the manner above recon.
: E. sJ-1